Trevor Siemian, Broncos Beat Raiders as Derek Carr Suffers Back Injury

The Oakland Raiders fell to 2-2 with their 16-10 defeat to the Denver Broncos (3-1) on the road Sunday, but an injury to Derek Carr overshadowed the loss.

Carr was 10-of-18 for 143 yards and a touchdown before he was kneed in the back while getting sacked by Broncos defensive end Adam Gotsis in the third quarter. After remaining on the ground, Carr exited the field under his own power and headed for the locker room.

The Raiders confirmed Carr suffered a back injury.

The injury came as the Raiders offense had stalled after Carr hit Johnny Holton on a 64-yard touchdown to bring Oakland within three points, 10-7, with 3:36 left in the first half. The NFL shared a replay of the TD strike:

The Raiders' next five possessions went for a combined minus-24 yards.

On his second full series after replacing Carr, EJ Manuel engineered a nine-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in a 38-yard field goal by Giorgio Tavecchio to make it a one-score game, 16-10, in favor of the Broncos with 5:23 left in the game. The 2013 first-round pick was a pleasant surprise under difficult circumstances:

"

Might be the best game of EJ Manuel's career.

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) October 1, 2017"

Manuel had an opportunity to put the Raiders in position to win after Oakland's defense forced a three-and-out on Denver's next possession. He got the Raiders to the Broncos' 41-yard line before throwing an interception on 2nd-and-15.

The NFL shared a replay of Justin Simmons' acrobatic interception:

From there, Denver ran the remaining 1:46 off the clock to pick up the win.

The Broncos needed a strong performance from their defense as the offense managed to gain only 298 yards and convert five of 16 third downs. Trevor Siemian's 179 passing yards were his fewest of the season, as well as his fourth lowest in 18 career starts.

Siemian was responsible for Denver's only touchdown of the game. He found A.J. Derby down the sideline on a 22-yard pass to put the Broncos ahead, 7-0, at the 8:11 mark of the first quarter.

C.J. Anderson was a bright spot for the Broncos offense as he ran for 95 yards on 20 carries. He also caught four passes for 17 yards.

The Broncos play the winless New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers in their next two games before facing off with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. That game will serve as a barometer as to where Denver stands in the AFC hierarchy.

On its own, the loss isn't a significant blow to the Raiders' playoff hopes. All but four teams in the AFC have at least two defeats, so Oakland is right in the thick of the wild-card race.

The team's postseason odds will crater quickly, though, if Carr's injury proves to be a long-term issue. The Raiders' fortunes changed rapidly when Carr broke his leg in Oakland's next-to-last regular-season game in 2016, and history may repeat itself in 2017.